Chapter 129 (Part I): The Siege of the Demons

"Indeed."

"I save their lives, and they pay. It's only natural."

Lin Qiye said with a completely matter-of-fact expression.

"But this is simply too much!"

Little White Stone's eyes spun in dazzlement; she still felt as though she were dreaming. That was a stash of two Diamond-grade and five hundred and fifty Platinum-grade weapons!

In just this short span of time, the other party had agreed so decisively.

They even promised to provide two hundred Platinum-grade weapons every year from now on!

She was going to die of happiness.

Little White Stone's face was flushed and dizzy.

"Happy? Joyful? Never had such a wonderful experience before, have you? From now on, all these weapons are at your disposal. Go on and temper your innate divine ability properly."

Lin Qiye smiled.

Little White Stone's innate ability was uniquely suited to consuming weapons.

Even now, having acquired five hundred and fifty Platinum-grade weapons, it was still far from enough.

Of course.

For the present stage, it was more than enough to allow Little White Stone to grow by leaps and bounds.

It was simply perfect.

"All... all at my disposal?!"

Little White Stone widened her eyes, staring at Lin Qiye in utter disbelief.

Happiness had arrived so abruptly that it felt like a dream.

Seeing her dazed expression, Lin Qiye smiled and shook his head.

Casually, he placed a name list on the table.

Before long.

The Science Association arrived in a flurry of anxiety.

They delivered all the weapons in one go.

The shimmering, radiant weapons made Little White Stone's heart race wildly. She took out every single weapon to wipe and polish it.

The smile at the corners of her mouth was impossible to suppress.

"Mr. Lin, the weapons have arrived. Please verify the count."

Lin Qiye glanced over them briefly.

He handed the list to the Chief Executive of the Science Association.

Chief Zheng took a glance at the list.

His heart subconsciously skipped a beat.

"There are actually this many?"

Lin Qiye nodded. "You are the Science Association, after all. Your combat prowess isn't particularly outstanding, and moreover, the fiends targeted you as a primary infiltration objective. Naturally, the number of fiends among you would be high."

"Let's go. I'll accompany you, and I'll root out the deeply hidden fiends myself."

"Then I must trouble Mr. Lin."

……

And so.

Twenty minutes later.

Chief Zheng used a special minor immortal artifact to seal off the entire territory of the Science Association, ensuring that no one could escape.

Unless they had fled ahead of time.

At this moment.

The entire Science Association was gripped by panic and unease.

"I hope my family and friends haven't been infected by the fiends."

"I heard the situation in the Science Association is extremely severe?"

"I'm so scared. I don't even know if I'm a fiend myself."

While everyone awaited inspection, Chief Zheng had already arranged the enforcement teams.

"Did you all get the name lists?"

"Got them!"

"Move quickly and go make the arrests immediately!"

At the order.

Over a thousand enforcement officers marched in formation, rushing out of the tall towers.

……

"I am wronged!"

"He identified the wrong person! He definitely identified the wrong person! I am not a fiend!"

"Why should a single word from him decide our identity? I refuse to accept this!"

Lin Qiye had grown somewhat tired of hearing cries of grievance over the past two days.

The big shots present, having followed Lin Qiye around for a few rounds, were naturally long familiar with such scenes.

No one paid attention to their cries because they knew Lin Qiye had never made a single erroneous judgment.

Half an hour flashed by in an instant.

The enforcement teams brought back nearly seven thousand suspicious individuals.

All of them were locked away in the Heavenly Prison.

Looking at the dense, swarming mass of fiends, the powerhouses of the Science Association could not help but feel their hearts palpitate.

Among them were quite a few Platinum-rank walkers, and even peak Platinum-rank walkers.

They had infiltrated every walk of life within the Science Association...

"Terrifying!" "It makes my scalp tingle!"

"With so many fiends hidden right beside us, we remained completely oblivious. If they had erupted, wouldn't Star City have fallen instantly?"

At this moment.

No matter how powerful they were, everyone felt a lingering fear.

They couldn't help but secretly rejoice that a Lin Qiye had emerged, and that they had managed to invite him over in time.

Otherwise, had they dragged it out any longer, who knew how much internal loss they would have suffered.

"Chief Executive, everyone on the list has been captured! Also, all the Diamond-rank powerhouses have been summoned back as well."

The commander of the enforcement officers respectfully reported the situation.

Chief Zheng sighed softly.

"Heavy losses, truly heavy losses! Fortunately, we managed to stop the bleeding in time!"

"However, Mr. Lin, are there any Diamond-rank fiends among them? How many? Everyone is right here inside. Please flush them out, Mr. Lin!"

Lin Qiye smiled faintly.

He swept his gaze over the crowd.

"There are four Diamond-rank fiends. Will you confess voluntarily, or should I make a move?"

Lin Qiye's voice enveloped everyone present.

Yet the Diamond-rank powerhouses below remained completely motionless.

Not a single person surrendered.

"It seems they still don't believe in my abilities."

Lin Qiye smiled slightly.

Driving his resentment immortal pupils, his spiritual power instantly locked onto three of them.

"We've reached this point, and you still won't reveal yourselves voluntarily? It seems you are still questioning my capabilities even now!"

He let out a cold snort, and lightning particles instantly gathered beside the three individuals.

Under the interference of resentment, they effortlessly invaded the bodies of the three.

"Ah—!"

The lightning particles raged wildly.

Before the three could even offer a defense, they collapsed to their knees in agony.

They tried to resist, only to find that they had completely lost control over their own bodies. The intense pain twisted their facial features into hideous expressions.

They collapsed to the ground, struggling incessantly.

In just a few breaths of time, the skin all over their bodies began to disintegrate and rot.

Dark, turbid flesh was exposed, quickly revealing their true fiendish forms.

"They are fiends! There are actually four whole Diamond-rank fiends! This is too terrifying!"

"So Old Zhou had already become a fiend?"

"How is this possible? I didn't sense it at all!"

Even having witnessed such scenes before, everyone present still found it hard to accept.

But the reality was set.

Unwilling or not, they had to accept it.

"Mr. Lin, please kill them! Fiends like these are simply spine-chilling!"

Chief Zheng hurriedly requested.

The others were likewise filled with awe and dread.

Clearly, their fear of the Skin-Disguised Fiends surpassed that of any other kind of fiend.

After all.

These were fiends capable of lurking silently right beside Diamond-rank powerhouses!

Impossible to guard against!

"Lin Qiye!!! How could you possibly see through our disguise? How is this possible?!"

The four Skin-Disguised Fiends were captured.

All of them glared at Lin Qiye with extreme fury.

At this moment, they had revealed the greater part of their true bodies.

Their distorted, foul bodies struggled fiercely, trying to break free from their restraints.

Stinking, oil-like viscous fluid continuously dripped from the corners of their mouths.

Lin Qiye looked at the four Skin-Disguised Fiends and let out a cold huff.

The resentment power within his immortal pupils poured forth once more.

Aided by his formidable spiritual power, the resentment was magnified severalfold.

Even while simultaneously confronting four Skin-Disguised Fiends, it suppressed them to the point of repeated retreat.

The four fiends collapsed weakly onto the ground.

Clearly, they had lost all ability to resist.

"Mr. Lin is truly formidable!"

"Not only can he see through their disguise, but he can also suppress them!"

"These fellows do not lack combat prowess at all; even peak Diamond-rank experts might not necessarily be able to suppress them."

Chief Zheng exclaimed in wonder.

Lin Qiye, however, maintained a calm expression as he deployed his [Thunder God Domain].

Under Lin Qiye's precise manipulation.

The domain was compressed into an extremely small radius.

The concentration of stray lightning particles reached a terrifying degree.

In the blink of an eye, they had infiltrated all the vital organs of the four fiends.

"Lin Qiye! Why? Why? Let us die knowing the truth!"

Hearing this, Lin Qiye sneered.

"Do you deserve to?"

As he spoke.

The lightning particles instantly destroyed all the vital organs within their bodies.

Spouting black blood from their mouths, the four fiends collapsed with heavy reluctance.

And just the second after the fiends perished, three streams of pure energy, imperceptible to others, were devoured by the resentment immortal pupils.

Of course.

Having previously absorbed a Supreme-grade Skin-Disguised Fiend, his immortal pupils had already upgraded significantly.

Therefore.

The energy provided by these three minor peak Diamond-grade Skin-Disguised Fiends was not particularly substantial.

Still, it added to his reserves.

Gathering little by little, accumulating sand into a pagoda—slaying another three to five hundred fiends would allow him to reach the next level.

Lin Qiye had a hunch.

These resentment immortal pupils possessed infinite potential; as long as he continued to devour the energy of Skin-Disguised Fiends, they would surely astonish him in the future.

"Alright."

"Problem solved. What an exhausting ordeal."

Lin Qiye's acting skills were dialed to the maximum.

He wore an expression that conveyed he had sacrificed far too much for world peace.

Chief Zheng quickly cupped his fists in salute.

"You've worked hard, Mr. Lin. Mr. Lin truly possesses great righteousness in his heart."

Lin Qiye nodded slightly.

"Mhm. The matter is resolved, I'm heading back to rest."

With those words.

Lin Qiye vanished right where he stood.

Leaving everyone else staring at each other in blank dismay.

……

"Truly powerful..."

"Peak Diamond-rank, a fourteen-year-old youth, capable of unearthing the traces of fiends from a series of subtle details—his meticulousness is off the charts."

"Ideal Island has really struck gold."

Chief Zheng muttered to himself.

"Perhaps Ideal Island will rise to even greater heights."

……

Evening.

The Science Association issued an official notice.

[With the assistance of Mr. Lin Qiye, the Science Association has purged 7,000 fiends, and 4 peak Diamond-rank fiends have been dragged out into the light. The hidden hazards within the Science Association have been completely eradicated, and moreover, ties have been established with Mr. Lin Qiye...]

Once the notice was published.

It plunged the entire Star City—with the exception of the four families of the Seven City Defense Militias and the Science Cult—into intense anxiety.

"To think that a faction like the Science Association, equipped with rigorous monitoring methods, could be so severely infiltrated by fiends."

"Now, just among the few factions already screened, over 10,000 fiends have been unmasked. Who knows how many more there will be once the purge is fully completed!"

"And this is just within our Star City, yet the situation is already this dire. What about other cities?"

Speaking of this matter, everyone's complexion changed.

Granted, Star City's infiltration situation was relatively severe due to currently being besieged by fiends.

Yet external cities, even if better off than Star City, probably wouldn't be much better.

For a time, everyone could not help but feel grateful that Lin Qiye had come to Star City.

With such an entity capable of countering fiends, as long as Star City didn't encounter an overwhelmingly powerful fiend assault, they wouldn't have to worry about falling due to internal infiltration.

However, gratitude aside.

The remaining factions whose internal problems had yet to be resolved broke out in cold sweat, terrified of becoming the next target of fiend parasitism.

"Mr. Lin, now that the fiends in the Science Association have been completely eradicated, do you suppose you could hurry over to inspect our family next?"

"Rest assured, once the task is accomplished, we will immediately—no, at once, we will dispatch people to deliver your reward right away!"

The remaining families of the Seven Great Clans were somewhat flustered.

They stepped forward one after another, pleading with Lin Qiye to take action immediately.

"No rush. Once the items are delivered, I'll naturally visit each of you door-to-door."

Lin Qiye's expression remained completely unperturbed, but inwardly, he had no intention of dragging things out any further.

Just the Science Association alone had yielded three Skin-Disguised Fiends and hundreds of fiends of varying ranks.

Such an infiltration intensity somewhat exceeded Lin Qiye's expectations.

If the hidden dangers within the city weren't resolved as soon as possible, Star City would likely face a catastrophic doom before long.

"Quick! Quickly send the prepared treasures to Mr. Lin's villa! Immediately! Right now!"

Having learned Lin Qiye's temperament, no one dared to be perfunctory anymore; they immediately dispatched subordinates back to arrange the gifts.

Within mere hours, all factions in Star City honestly delivered their gifts to the hanging island.

After confirming the situation with Chen Fan, Lin Qiye finally set off to clear out the internal hazards of the remaining families.

"Gather all personnel! Anyone who fails to show up will be treated as a traitor on the spot!"

"Understood!"

The Seven Great Clans issued mobilization orders one after another, recalling all personnel regardless of whether they had matters to attend to or not.

All of this was simply to allow Lin Qiye to complete his inspections as quickly as possible.

Lin Qiye was happy for the convenience.

As long as the money was paid in full.

He could provide the name lists and subsequently wipe out the fiends.

After all, under the dual blessing of [Genesis Deduction] + [Resentment Immortal Pupil], not even Skin-Disguised Fiends had anywhere to hide.

Naturally.

The Skin-Disguised Fiends were personally eradicated by Lin Qiye.

As for those below Diamond-rank, the experts of the various major families could swiftly suppress them.

Once the name lists were released.

The remaining three families of the Seven City Defense Militias began their cleansing.

Among them.

Though some fiends resisted.

Their momentum was gone; four of the Seven City Defense Militias were free of internal worries and thus swiftly suppressed the resisting fiends.

In a mere hour.

The Seven City Defense Militias.

Also entered a state of safety.

Simultaneously.

Ideal Island had also purged 400 fiends and one Diamond-rank Skin-Disguised Fiend.

As night fell.

The entire Star City was safe.

Various factions issued public announcements.

The walkers' perception of Lin Qiye became one of extreme reverence.

And the civilians also learned of Lin Qiye's heaven-defying deeds.

For a time.

Lin Qiye's prestige in Star City reached an astronomical height—outstanding looks, formidable strength, innate talent, and a dedicated counter to fiends.

Blessed with all these halos.

Lin Qiye's prestige.

Even surpassed that of the Science Association!

And just as matters came to a temporary close, the powerhouses of the major factions finally let out a breath of relief.

"Hoo—"

"I must say, having over ten thousand hidden fiends is truly terrifying."

"You have to remember, there are eighteen peak Diamond-rank fiends outside Star City as well."

"If they coordinated from the inside and outside, Star City would surely have been reduced to ruins!"

"Horrifying!"

"But now, we don't have to fear fiends coordinating from within anymore!"

"If a fight breaks out, we would have lost at least thirty percent right off the bat!"

"However, the fiends outside the city seem to have grown frantic!"

"There have been premonitions of them gathering recently; it looks like they are about to lay siege!"

"Can our Star City withstand it? Those are eighteen peak Diamond-rank fiends!"